Some Doctors Refusing To Adopt Electronic Records

Systems required by government are costly and hard to implement

Under a plan first endorsed by President George W. Bush and signed into law by President Obama, the health care industry in the United States has started to change one of the signature elements in doctor's offices — switching chicken-scratched hand-written notes and records to electronic forms.

Supporters sold it as a time- and money-saving reform so vital to keeping health care costs from further spiraling out of control that the government has paid doctors and hospitals nearly $14 billion in incentives to make the conversion.

But Dr. Neil Boderman believes electronic records as they are now won't save money or time, so the Allentown optometrist not only is forgoing the government's incentive money, he's resigning himself to accept its penalties rather than make the switch.